Baltimore Comic Con: 20th Anniversary

This year, the Baltimore Comic Con celebrated 20 years! I was there for the three day annual event and this is my recap.

Simply Nerdy Mom was hosted by Baltimore Comic Con and received press passes for full coverage. 

This year was my third year attending the Baltimore Comic Con and in terms of my own personal experience, it was quite different. The reason being is that within the last year I have kind of opened up a bit more so I was able to talk to people and get to know a lot of other people there. I also have met so many people through out the last year that I ended up knowing a lot of attendees, as well as artists and vendors. So essentially it was like a convention friend reunion. Which, in all honesty, is the best part of conventions. You get to know people the more you go and you make new friends to hang out with. It's great! 

The convention is pretty large with a very nice variety of artists, writers, shops, and various other things to check out. The atmosphere is great! I mean, I haven't been to too many conventions where they have staff greeting everyone as they come in and clapping and cheering you on. And that's just the staff outside the doors. Once you walk through the doors, the staff inside are friendly and helpful. They are easily spotted due to the matching bright colored shirts and are ready to direct you to proper lines and do what they can to help you find booths, rooms, and times for what and where you need to be. In addition to the staff walking the floor, there is a huge information booth in the center of the convention where you can find floor maps and any other information you may need for the weekend. The staff at the booth are also incredibly kind and helpful. Frankly, this may be one of two conventions I've ever been to where the staff were all on point. I've done Wizard World a few times and as long as it's been around and as big as it is, the WW staff rarely knows what they are doing. So I tend to nerd out petty heavily over conventions who have staff that all know what they are doing. It's a huge deal. 

If you are looking to have items graded, the Baltimore Comic Con offers both CGC and CBCS booths with witnesses at the ready to help you get your comics and collectibles signed and off to be graded. We actually ended up getting a book witnessed and sent off through CBCS and the process is really easy and takes only a few minutes (mostly filling out your info and payment). I wish I had thought of it, but I have been wanting to get a poster I have signed by Charlie Sheen authenticated and apparently they do that, too. I'll have to remember that for next year.

Sometimes, half the fun of these conventions is what you stumble across at some of the booths. This entire booth was a horror lover's dream, but check out that Predator mask! 

Nerdy dad had the opportunity to get more signatures on his Captain America shield. And here's the thing, about 85%ish (maybe more) of those signatures were Baltimore guests from the last two years. So when I say they get a lot of well known and talented artists and writers, I mean it. All these people on the shield worked on the comics through the years. The fun part is seeing the artist's and writer's faces when we bring this to them to sign. We have a lot who take photos of it, tell us stories about working with the other folks who have signed it, and are just genuinely excited to be able to add their signature to it. 

The convention is very family friendly with plenty of panels, media guests - which this year included two voice actors from Teen Titans Go (and my son's favorite show, Ben 10), costume contests, a huge area of kids comics, crafts, cool activities, and so much more. 

I can see myself attending Baltimore Comic Con for as long as they decide to have it. It's a well run convention with enough variety for everyone and the entire weekend is just a ton of fun. 

Check out my short highlight video for more!